Ernest H. “Doc” Ferris was the great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Jeffrey Ferris. Born the youngest child of a farming family in the Cincinnati region, he soon saw that farm living was NOT the life for him. Instead, America’s sport, baseball, drew him from behind the plow.

He played for a number of teams before and after World War I, and managed as well. Most of his playing time was in the Carolinas and Maryland, in class C or D leagues such as the North Carolina State League and the Piedmont League.

In 1916, Doc Ferris may have set the minor league record for the shortest game and the fewest balls pitched in a game. His Columbia Comers beat the Albany Babies on July 18 in South Atlantic League play. The game took 78 minutes and he threw a total of 73 pitches. Fielding was the savior for the Columbia team with Ferris recording just two strikeouts.

Year

Team

Lg

Lev

W

L

W-L%

G

IP

H

R

BB

1913

Durham

NCSL

D

10

12

0.455

34

232

203

92

55

1914

Asheville

NCSL

D

9

16

0.36

34

206

198

72

38

1915

Asheville

NCSL

D

27

12

0.692

45

344

293

122

54

1916

Columbia

SALL

C

18

15

0.545

39

290

284

115

49

1917

2 Teams

2 Lgs

D-C

15

8

0.652

23

182

186

64

5

1917

Hagerstown

BLRI

D

12

6

0.667

18

139

143

50

2

1917

Columbia

SALL

C

3

2

0.6

5

43

43

14

3

1921

Greensboro

PIED

C

20

9

0.69

40

273

211

127

43

1922

Greensboro

PIED

C

6

9

0.4

22

164.2

168

76

28

1923

Greensboro

PIED

C

4

5

0.444

19

98

130

58

24

8 Seasons

109

86

0.559

256

1789.2

1673

726

296

D (4 seasons)

D

58

46

0.558

131

921

837

336

149

C (5 seasons)

C

51

40

0.56

125

868.2

836

390

147

Ferris went on to several business enterprises and was a real estate broker in Greensboro, NC, for a long time. He married in and had two daughters.

If this post helped you, why not buy me a cup of coffee?

Running this website costs time and money. If you would like to make a small donation supporting the site, click here.